We have been engaged by the Directors of BG Group plc (BG Group) to perform an independent assurance engagement in respect of BG Group’s Sustainability Report 2009 (the Sustainability Report). Our report is in respect of the PDF version of the online BG Group Sustainability Report 2009 as at 30 March 2010 (“the PDF”).

Scope and subject matter

The information for the year ended 31 December 2009 on which we provide limited assurance consists of:

• BG Group’s conclusion on meeting the AA1000APS (2008) principles of Inclusivity, Materiality and Responsiveness set out under the heading ‘Our performance in 2009’ in the Reporting, performance and data section;
• The selected data for the year in the Data section under the headings People, Safety and Health, Social performance, Environment and Greenhouse Gas Emissions (the “Sustainability Data”) which has been prepared based on the criteria set out on in the Data Methodology section; and
• The Directors’ assessment in Our approach to reporting of the application level of the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) “G3” Guidelines

We collectively refer to the information in these sections as the “Sustainability Information”.

We read the other information included in the Sustainability Report and consider whether it is consistent with the Sustainability Information. We consider the implications for our report if we become aware of any apparent misstatements or material inconsistencies with the Sustainability Information. Our responsibilities do not extend to any other information.

Assurance work performed

Our multi-disciplinary team of sustainability and assurance specialists conducted an assurance engagement in accordance with International Standard on Assurance Engagements 3000 (Revised) – ‘Assurance Engagements other than Audits and Reviews of Historical Financial Information’ issued by the International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board (“ISAE 3000”) and also in accordance with the AccountAbility 1000 Assurance Standard (2008) (“AA1000AS (2008)”).

We conducted our engagement to deliver a limited level of assurance. In our work,we have taken note of guidance issued by AccountAbility which advises that the term ‘moderate assurance’used in AA1000AS (2008) is designed to be consistent with ‘limited assurance’ as articulated in ISAE 3000. Our assurance is a Type II assurance engagement as defined in the Guidance for AA1000AS (2008) issued by AccountAbility in September 2009.

Our work involved the following activities:

1. Interviews with a selection of BG Group executives and senior managers to discuss their approach to stakeholder inclusivity, materiality and responsiveness.
2. Visits to two of BG Group’s assets: Trinidad and Tobago and Gujarat Gas Company Limited in India to review the systems and processes in place for managing and reporting on sustainability activities, including stakeholder engagement.
3. Review of a sample of Group-level documents relevant to an assessment of management’s application of their AA1000 Assessment Criteria, including minutes from Group Executive and Sustainability Committees, outputs from the risk assessment process, sustainability-related policies and standards, the Sustainability Materiality Assessment Matrix and other documents from stakeholder engagement activities such as notes from the annual meeting with Socially Responsible Investors.
4. Evaluating the design and implementation of the key processes and controls for managing and reporting the Sustainability Data for the year.
5. Limited testing at Group level, on a selective basis, of the preparation and collation of the Sustainability Data for the year.
6. Reviewing the GRI summary table to consider management’s assertion regarding the application of the GRI G3 Guidelines.

Respective responsibilities of the Directors and PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP

The Directors of BG Group are responsible for establishing assessment criteria (1) for the preparation of Sustainability data and (2) that they believe meet the principles of Inclusivity, Materiality and Responsiveness in the AA1000 AccountAbility Principles Standard 2008 (“AA1000APS”). These “Assessment Criteria”, set out in Our approach to reporting and in the Data Methodology section, have been identified by the Directors as an objective basis against which they assess and report on BG Group’s Sustainability performance.

The Directors are responsible for the content of the Sustainability Report, measuring BG Group’s performance based on the Assessment Criteria, and reporting this performance in the Sustainability Information.

Our responsibility is to form an independent conclusion, based on our assurance procedures, and report our conclusion to the Directors.

This report, including the conclusion, has been prepared for the Directors of BG Group as a body, to assist the Directors in the preparation of BG Group’s Sustainability Report 2009. To the fullest extent permitted by law, we do not accept or assume responsibility to anyone other than the Directors as a body and the Company for our work or this report save where terms are expressly agreed and with our prior consent in writing.

Limitations

Non-financial performance information is subject to more inherent limitations than financial information, given the characteristics of the subject matter and the methods adopted for the definition and gathering of information. Qualitative interpretations of relevance, materiality and the accuracy of data are subject to individual assumptions and judgements.

A limited assurance engagement is less in scope than a reasonable assurance engagement under ISAE 3000. Consequently, the nature, timing and extent of procedures for gathering sufficient, appropriate evidence are deliberately limited relative to a reasonable assurance engagement. In particular:

• The scope of our work was limited to corporate level activities and visits to two of BG Group’s assets. We did not attend any stakeholder engagement activities. Therefore our conclusions are based on our discussions with BG Group management and our review of selected documents provided to us by BG Group.
• The scope of our work was restricted to 2009 performance only, as set out in the scope and subject matter section above. Information relating to the year ended 31 December 2008 and earlier periods has not been subject to assurance by us.
• The conversion of fuel used to carbon emissions is based upon, inter alia, information and factors derived by independent third parties as explained in the Assessment Criteria. Our assurance work has not included examination of the derivation of those factors.

Conclusion

Based on the results of the assurance work performed, nothing has come to our attention that causes us to believe that for the year ended 31 December 2009:

• BG Group’s summary of performance and conclusion on meeting the principles of Inclusivity, Materiality and Responsiveness set out under the heading ‘Our performance in 2009’ are, in all material respects and taken as a whole, not fairly stated in accordance with the “Assessment Criteria” in the How we implement the AA1000 APS principles section;
• the selected Sustainability Data for the year in the Data section are not fairly stated in all material respects in accordance with the criteria set out in the Data Methodology section; and
• the Directors’ assessment in Our approach to reporting of the application level of the Global Reporting Initiative “G3” Guidelines as A+ is not fairly stated in all material respects.

Observations and areas for improvement

Our observations and areas for improvement will be raised in a report to BG Group’s management. Selected areas for improvement have been included in the “Learning from our independent assurance”. Our observations do not affect our conclusions on the Report set out above.

PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP,
Chartered Accountants, London
30 March 2010

The Directors are responsible for the maintenance and integrity of the website. PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP accepts no responsibility for any changes that may have occurred to the BG Group Sustainability Report 2009 since it was initially presented on the website.